In a statement the bank said that key interest rates for loans would remain at 10.75%, with those for deposits remaining at 9.75%, adding that a number of Egypt’s most prominent economic experts were torn regarding the soundness of such policies. Some expected rates to increase in order to help contain the country’s rising inflation. The committee raised interest rates 50 points during its last meeting on 21 March, leaving the discount rate unaltered at 10.25%.